If were true, the Gameboy would have caused the NES and SNES to struggle.

Why would it cause NES to struggle? They belong to different generations, NES released 1983 in Japan, 1985 in America and 1986 in Europe. Gameboy released 1989 in Japan/America and 1990 in Europe. The majority of NES sales had already happened by the time Gameboy released.

As for Gameboy vs SNES there was a big difference. 4 shades of gray vs 32,000 colors. Gameboy could only do 2D while SNES had mild 3D capabilities as seen in Star Fox, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario RPG. They each had big defining games that couldnt be played on the other Tetris/Pokemon vs Street Fighter II/Mario Kart.

The difference in games/visuals for Gameboy vs SNES is much greater than 3DS vs Wii U

Handhelds and consoles don't compete. They never have. Two different consumers by them, with only a small majority owning both.

Even if we accept this reasoning as correct, I think that the conclusion is that Nintendo, and not the 3DS, is the Wii U's problem. If overdeveloping for the 3DS is what's killing the Wii U, then Nintendo's decisions on what to develop games for is the bigger problem, and not the 3DS by itself.

At any rate, Nintendo overdeveloping for the 3DS may be one problem for the Wii U, but it certainly isn't the entire story or even the main cause behind the console's struggles. Constant delaying of titles, a non-existant early to mid 2013 first party line up, and a combination of half baked third party support from developers and absolutely pitiful 3rd party sales on the part of the fans have been the major reasons behind the Wii U's struggles.

Do u have anything to back that up? Why cant they compete, because u hold one and the other sits under a TV? They are both dedicated video game devices, the same consumers buy them, the people who want to play high quality video games. Some prefer handhelds, some prefer home consoles, some dont care and just buy the one that has the most appealing games for there personal tastes.

I agree that GB vs SNES, GBC vs N64, GBA vs GC, DS vs Wii did not directly compete because they had huge leaps in visuals and vastly different libraries. I believe 3DS and Wii U do somewhat compete against each other because to the typical consumer there isnt a huge difference in visuals and most of the big hitters on Wii U already have a similar installment on 3DS. Also the 3DS is about half the cost of Wii U and easily has twice the library.

I see u use this argument all the time but I have never actually seen u legitimately back it up with anything other than "they dont compete because i say so"

The real Wii U struggles is the fact that no 1 wants to buy a Wii U. Not even Nintendo fans.

That doesnt make any sense. U basically said the reason Wii U is struggling is because its struggling.

Demographic data shows that most Nintendo handheld purchases are children where as consoles are now, I believe, an over 30 item. One sits under a tv, and is enjoyed by multiple people within a family, costs half a grand, and serves as a hub for entertainment. Ther other is $99.99, played by one person, and is mostly used on school bus rides and the back seat of family get aways.

Nintendo knows this and that's why the 2DS was launched along with the biggest kids franchise they make, Pokemon. Why do you think Pokemon isn't on home consoles? It's because Nintendo knows the audience.

The biggest proof that handhelds don't compete with consoles is the Vita. It's selling as close to discontinued as you can get, yet PS4 is killing it. Why? Seperate devices, seperate markets. The dedicated handheld market is the 6-12 demograph, and that is not what Vita is going for. Thus, no sales.

no what he said is pretty self explantory. Its struggling because people dont want to buy it. Now why people dont want to buy it is a different question.